I recently watched a film wherein an older man and teenage boy had to survive in the bush of New Zealand. At one point the man (who said very little) turned to the boy and said, “If we get separated, find running water and follow it upstream to higher ground where you can get a better perspective of your surroundings. Then choose your course.”
Yoga’s Yamas and Niyamas have become this running water for me.
Or maybe a kind of spiritual paint stripper – highly effective agents at helping me strip away the layers that I’ve wrapped around myself in response to fears, unexamined beliefs, and cultural influences. Yet they also feel like an intimate life companion, continuing to nurture and surprise at every turn if I will simply remain open and listen.
Just how peaceful and joyous can I feel? Just how peaceful and joyous can you feel? On and off your mat? Day in and day out?